UK knitwear manufacturer, John Smedley, announced it is set to shut its Clay Cross factory in Derbyshire.
The plant, where 47 are employed, will merge with operations at Lea Mills, also in Derbyshire.
The consolidation will produce 21 new jobs at the existing factory.
The Community Union, the body that defends the rights of knitwear industry workers, stated that it would endeavor to change the decision.
National officer for the Community Union, Steve McCool, commented that there were alternative options to avoid jobs cuts. He said:
“There’s a whole host of things like job sharing and various other things we may want to explore with the company, but that will only come to the surface once we get in there and ask serious questions.
“We are very much a family firm so naturally it is very sad when even a small number of jobs must be put at risk.
“However, sustaining manufacturing in Britain means taking tough business decisions.”
Workers at the plant heard the news on Monday, which company managing director Ian Maclean called “very sad”.
A 30-day consultation period has now begun for the 231-year-old family owned clothing manufacturer.
